On a day of mixed-bag injury news, the return to the ice by Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie probably qualified as the best.

The Avs' second-leading scorer among defensemen in the regular season (13 goals, 38 points) was at practice four days after suffering an upper-body injury following a big hit Friday from San Jose's Jason Demers.

Barrie will be in the lineup when the Avs begin a first-round Western Conference playoff series Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.

It was first feared Barrie might have a concussion from the check from Demers that came while Barrie was looking the other way cutting down the middle of the Sharks' zone.

Barrie said he might have had a bit of whiplash but no concussion. He blamed himself for putting himself in a vulnerable position.

"I think that was a clean hit. I dropped the puck to (Nathan MacKinnon), and I was looking at the puck too long," Barrie said. "I'm so excited for the playoffs — first time for me in pro hockey. It should be something else. The city is really excited for it."

Footnotes. Jan Hejda (upper body) missed practice, but coach Patrick Roy said the defenseman is day to day and expects him to be ready for the series against Minnesota. ... Roy said center John Mitchell (concussion) has been feeling better and added it's possible he could play in the series. ... Center Matt Duchene (knee) has not resumed skating and won't play in the first two games at least. This is the third week he has missed, and the original prognosis was a four-week absence. ... Marc-Andre Cliche will center the third line, with Max Talbot and Cody McLeod. ... Defenseman Cory Sarich (back) did not practice. .... Defenseman Stefan Elliott practiced and would take Hejda's spot if he can't play Thursday.

WEDNESDAY'S MATCHUPS

Tampa Bay (46-27-9) vs. Montreal (46-28-8), 5 p.m.

Season series: Tampa Bay won 3-0-1.

Story line: Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop, who was dominant in the four games against Montreal, is expected to miss at least the start of the seven-game series because of an upper-body injury. If the Canadiens can take advantage of Anders Lindback, who has been in net for only one postseason game in his career, they probably will advance in the playoffs for the first time since reaching the Eastern Conference finals in 2010.

Key players: Tampa Bay's Lindback — He won just eight-of-22 games, giving up nearly three goals a game during the regular season. His previous playoff experience consists of one game in 2001 with the Nashville Predators. ... Montreal's Max Pacioretty — The sixth-year forward scored a career-high 39 goals in the regular season.

Pittsburgh (51-24-7) vs. Columbus (43-32-7), 5:30 p.m.

Season series: Pittsburgh won 5-0.

Story line: The Penguins probably have the easiest first-round matchup, but any team still playing is good enough to advance. And the 2009 Stanley Cup champions were eliminated in the opening round in 2011 and 2012.

Key players: Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby — He joined Mario Lemieux (six), Jaromir Jagr (five) and Evgeni Malkin (two) as Penguins who have won multiple Art Ross Trophies after leading the league with 104 points. ... Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky — The goaltender, now in his fourth season, is a significant reason the Blue Jackets won a franchise-record 43 games and earned a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2009. He faced Pittsburgh once this season, giving up three goals on 13 shots in relief of Curtis McElhinney in a 4-2 loss Nov. 1.

Anaheim (54-20-8) vs. Dallas (40-31-11), 8 p.m.

Season series:Dallas won 2-1.

Story line: The Ducks had the most points in the Western Conference for the first time since they joined the NHL two decades ago. They want to send out Teemu Selanne, 43, with a championship in what is expected to be his final season. The Stars are in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Key players:Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf — The 6-foot-4, 221-pound center had a career-high 31 goals and 87 points, ranking second in the league in scoring and trailing only his 91-point season from five years ago. ... Dallas' Tyler Seguin — The forward has been everything Stars general manager Jim Nill hoped he would be after dealing Loui Eriksson to Boston last summer in a seven-player deal to acquire Seguin. The No. 2 pick overall from the 2010 NHL draft had career highs with 37 goals and 84 points in Dallas.

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